serrell



(No Model.) .3 Sheets-Shet 1. E. W. SERRBLL, Jr. & E; POUGEIROL.

MACHINERY FOR BEATING SILK UOGOONS.

Patented May 6, 1890,.

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(No Model!) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2;

E. W. SERRBLL', Jr. & E. P OUGEIROL. MACHINERY FOR BEATING SILK GOGOONS.

No. 427,243. v Patented May 6, 1890.

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E. W. SERP,ELL, Jr. 8: E. FOUGEIROL. MACHINERY FOR BEATING SILK cocoon-s.

No. 427,243. Patented May 6, 1890.

EDlVARD IVILLIAM SERRELL, JR., OF NEWV YORK, N. Y., AND EDOU'ARD FOUGEIROL, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

MACHINERY FOR BEATING SILK COCOONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 427,243, dated May 6, 1890.

Application filed July 19, 1887, Serial No. 244,689- (No model.) Patented in France September 1,1886, No. 178,805 g in Belgium October 27, 1886, No. 75,017; in England November 8, 18 86,110. 14,367; in Italy November 18, 1886, XLI, 56; in Spain December 20, 1886, No. 6, l10: in Germany January 11, 1887,1To.40,74=2: in Austria-Hungary April 12, 1887,170. 739; in Turkey July 9, 1887, N0. 88; in Hong Kong December 15, 1887, No. 7,683, and in India December 29, 1887,110. 1,699-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD TILLIAM SERRELL, J r., civil engineer, of the city and State of New York, United States of America, temporarily residing in Ohabeuil, Department of the Drome, France, and EDOUARD FOU- GEIROL, civil engineer, member of the French Chamber of Deputies, residing in Paris, France, No. 125 Boulevard St. Germain, have invented an Improvement in Machinery for Beating Silk Cocoons, of which the following is a specification.

Patents for this invention have been granted as follows: In France September 1, 1886, No. 178,305, to Serrell and Fougeirol; in Great Britain November 8,1886, No. 14,367, to Serrell and Fougeirol; in British India December 29, 1887, No. 1,699, to Serrell and Fougeirol; in Hong Kong December 15, 1887, No. 7,633, to Serrell and Fougeiro]; in Italy November 18, 1886, and December 31,1886,Vol. XLI, No. 56, to E. IV. Serrell, J r. in Spain December 20, 1886, No. 6,410, to E. WV. Serrell, J12; in Belgium October 27, 1886, No. 75,017,.[0 E. IV. Serrell, J r.; in Austria-Hungary April 12, 1887, No. 739 to E. WV. Serrell, J12; in Germany January 11, 1887, No. 40,742, to E. IV. Serrell, J r., and in Turkey July 9, 1887, No. 83, to E. W. Serrell, Jr.

This invention has for its object the socalled beating of silk cocoons for the purpose of loosening or removing the floss or waste found upon the exterior of each cocoon, in order to find and seize the continuous filament of which the cocoon is principally composed. 1

Before the filament of silk cocoons can be practically unwound the cocoons have to un' dergo an operation which consists, first, in softening the gum or natural cementing material which binds the filaments of the cocoon together, and, secondly, in removing the floss and broken ends of the filaments, so that the true end of the continuous thread of which the cocoon is principally formed may be found and seized.

The softening of the gum is accomplished by an operation called the cooking of the cocoon. It is effected by placing the cocoons in boiling water in various apparatus, which is not a part of the present invention.

hen the cocoons have been properly cooked and the gum is sufficiently softened,

the next operation consists in the removal of the floss and broken ends. The process hitherto employed for this purpose is called the beating of the cocoons, and to this process our invention refers.

In practice the beating operation is always carried on while the cocoons are floating on hot water. The brush or other device employed is worked either by hand or by machinery. hen it is effected by hand,it is generally as follows: The attendant has a stiff brush, usually made of heather or grass and of a conical shape, having the base of the cone at its lower end. The brush being held by its upper smaller part is moved delicately against the cocoons floating on the water in such a manner that the bottom ends of the brush touch the cocoons, and the floss and filament ends of the latter adhere to the brush. hen the attendant deems the operation to have lasted sufficiently, the brush is raised out of the water, the flossv and filament ends thereto adhering are removed, and it is found that the true ends of some of the cocoons are also attached to the brush. After laying these- Another mode of beating cocoons consists in moving a twig, wire,bristle, or similar body gently among the cocoons, and the operation is completed in the ordinary manner. In some cases the said body is provided with bristles or twigs of different natures.

The automatic machines hitherto used for beating cocoons consist substantially of a brush brought mechanically in contact with the upper surface of the cocoons floating on the water and of a clutch so arranged as to arrest the operation at determined intervals for the purpose of removing the beaten cocoons and recharging the basin. These 1nachines usually have circular rotary brushes. Other machines have also been made in which the brush receives a to-and-fro motion; but up to the present day the action of cocoonbeatin g machines has always been based upon the motion of the brush in direct, but yet delicate, contact with all the cocoons, as well as upon the entanglement of the floss and filaments while the brush bears upon or touches the upper surfaces of the cocoons.

Owing to the delicaeyof the cocoon filament and to the irregularity and imperfections of all systems of beating hitherto employed, a considerable waste of silk occurs, because when the floss is being detached the utilizable filament is either entangled or out, and thus rendered improper for reeling.

In our machine the brush is partly immersed in the hot water in the basin containing the cocoons and a rapid up-and-down n10- tion is given to the brush, but the lower end of the brush is always below the surface of the water; hence alternating and vortex currents are produced in the water of suflicient violence to detach the floss from the cocoons by the washing action of the water.

In our machine the brush does not act directly upon the cocoons to separate the floss from them, which direct contact, as heretofore practiced, breaks many of the delicate filaments and causes waste of silk; but the cocoons are drawn toward and moved away from the brush by the agitation of the water caused by the up and down movements of the brush in the water, and the floss is separated from the cocoons wholly by the action of the water, and the detached floss becomes entangled in the bristles or fibers of the brush, it being understood that the lower part of the brush never rises out of the water during the separating operation. Consequently the cocoons are not struck by the brush in its downward movement and injured, as heretofore usual.

In the accompanying drawings, Sheet 1, Figure 1, is an elevation, partly in section, of an entire machine which we have invented for carrying our process into practice. Fig. 2 is a section at the line ac as, Fig. 1. Fig. is a plan of certain portions thereof. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the brush and partial section of the holder, and Fig. 5 is a section of the brush and holder.

B is a basin supported by a table T, carrying the machine. The basin B contains wa ter heated by steam or otherwise.

1 is the brush, fastened to a vertical shaft 2 above the basin at the required height to permit the end of the brush to be always below the water-level during the beatingoperation, and hence always below the top edge of the basin. The brush 1 should preferably be capable of turning 011 its axis, and to this end it is secured to the shaft 2 by means of an attachment 3, to be hereinafter described.

The cooked cocoons to be beaten are put into the basin B and float on the water. Upand-down rapid motion is imparted to the brush by the shaft 2, the stroke varying according to circumstances, but should be so regulated that the end of the brush will always be immersed in the water when the brush is at the end of its upstroke and that when in the lowest position the points of the brush will always be at least two or three centimeters above the bottom of the basin.

When operated as above stated, the brush .creates an agitation of the water and of the cocoons floating thereon. The cocoons are more or less attracted toward the brush, part of the floss detaching from the cocoons and attaching itself to the small stems or bristles composing the brush. The operation is carried on until a certain number of the cocoons give up their floss. The brush is then stopped and lifted out of the water, and a number of the true ends of the silk filament are found to adhere to the said bristles. The said filaments, together with their respective cocoons, are removed from the brush and laid aside, and the operation is continued, and so on.

The brush should preferably be stopped and lifted out of the water mechanically after it has performed a given number of up and down strokes, this being accomplished as follows: The shaft 2 is moved up and down in a guide 5, as hereinafter described. A spring 40, secured by a pin 11, presses downward on projections 8 of the shaft 2, so that the brush has a constant tendency to remain at the end of its downstroke. A bell-crank lever 9, pivoted on an axis 10, is connected to the shaft 2 by the links 6 and pivots 7. A cord 0 con nects the lever 9 to the operating parts, as hereinafter described. WVhen the said cord C is drawn in the direction shown by the arrow, Fig. 1, the lever 9 acts upon the shaft 2 by means of the links 6 and pivots 7 and raises it, together with the brush 1, at the same time compressing the spring 40. When, 011 the other hand, the cord 0 is slackened, the spring 40, pressing upon the projections S, lowers the shaft 2 and brush 1, thus effecting the downstroke. The guide 5, the axis 10, and the pin 11 are all upon a framing 4, pivoted at 16 upon the table T of the machine. NVhen the framing 4 is tilted,the brush 1 and parts connected therewith are raised out of the water and assume the position shown by,

the dotted lines in Fig. 1, this position being assumed every time the weight V, Fig. 1, is free to descend; but this motion is prevented during the beating operation bythehook 21 engaginglever 22, as hereinafter described. The weight W is attached by a cord, chain, or rod 0 to an arm O projecting from the arm 4,

and said arm 0 is positioned, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the weight will raise the arm 4 and parts carried by it to the position shown IIO by dotted lines in Fig. 1 whenever the latchlever 22 is disengaged from the catch 21.

34 is the driving-pulley, and 35 the loose pulley on shaft 36.

15 is the fly-wheel.

17 is a disk secured upon the end of the driving-shaft 36 and having an adjustable arm 20 with an axis 19, carrying a frictionroll 18. The arm 20 is connected to the disk 17 by the screw 1) which screw formsa pivotfor said arm to turn upon. By moving said arm 20 the relative positions of the axes 19 and 36 are varied and more or less eccentricity given to the roll 18, and after said arm is positioned it is clamped to the disk 36 by the screw b, which passes through a slot in said disk 36. This roll 18, revolving at the same time with the shaft 36, but more or less eccentrically, forms a cam or crank of adjustable throw, which, acting against the lever 13, imparts a to-and fro movement to it, and by means of the cord O, the bell-crank 9, the connecting-pieces 6 7, and shaft 2 this to-and-fro movement of the lever 13 (which continues as long as it is in contact with the roll 18) is converted into a vertical reciprocating movement of the brush 1.

is a worm fastened on the shaft 36 and gearing into a wheel 25 on a shaft 26, so that the latter shaft rotates a fraction of a revolution for each complete revolution of the shaft 36. If, for instance, the wheel 25 has sixty teeth, the shaft 26 will make one revolution for every sixty revolutions of the shaft 36. On the said shaft 26 is keyed a pinion 37 between the yoke or radial support 23." This support 23 is capable of turning on the axis 26; but its motion is limited in one direction by a pin surrounded by a spring 39, which bears against the table T. A wheel 24, carried by an axis 38 on the radial support 23, gears with the pinion37. Owing to the motion of the support 23 on its axis 26, the wheel 24 may be put in and out of gear with the wheel 27, but always remains in gear with the pinion 37. The wheel 27 is keyed upon a shaft 29 and rotates the same at a speed proportional to that of the shaft 36 during the time the said-wheel is in gear with the wheel 24; but as soon as both wheels are out of gear the wheel 27 and its shaft are free to turn in either one or the other direction independent of the action of the other devices of the machine, On the shaft 29 is secured a drum 28, upon which winds the chain or cord 0 of a weight WV, Fig. l. The relative arrangement of the parts is such that while the machine operates the chain of the weight V is wound upon the drum 28--that is to say, as long as the wheels 27 and 24 are in gear; but as soon as the said wheels are out of gear and the wheel 27 with the drum 28, becomes free to turn, the weight \V, when descending, rotates the drum 28 until the chain is completely unwound. The latch-lever 22, pivoted at 30, carries a slotted eye 31, through which the cord or chain of the weight XV passes, the latch-lever 22 engaging a connter-hook'21 when the framing 4 I is horizontal, as shown in full lines in the drawings, Fig. 1. The hook 21 is prolonged downward, so as to press down upon the radial support 23 when the framing 4 is hori- Zontal, and the latch 22 is swung on the pivot 30 and disconnects from the hook 21' as soon as the weight W" is drawn up against the eye 31.

The action of the machine is as follows: The driving-pulley 34 turns the shaft 36 and the parts thereto attached. A to-and-fro motion is imparted to the lever 13 by the eccen tric roll 18, against which the said leverbears, and an np-and-down motion is imparted to the brush 1, as previously described, the upstroke being given by the tension of the cord and the downstroke by the spring 40. Atthe same time the worm 33 operates the train of wheels '25, 37, 24, and 27, and the wheel 24 is kept in gear with the wheel 27, because the lower end of the hook 21 presses upon the radial support 23, so that the wheel 27 is also rotated and winds the chain of the weight W upon the drum 28. These movements are continued until the weight WV raises the eye 31 of the catch-lever 22. The length. of the cord or chain to which the weight WV is attached is such that the weight will be raised by the time the brush 1 has effected a sufficient number of strokes for the proper beating of the cocoons. As soon as the weight WV raises the eye 31 the latch-lever 22 liberates the latch 21, and 'the weight W thereupon causes the framing 4 to tilt on its axis 16. The brush is then lifted out of the basin. At the same time, owing to the relative positions of the axis 16 14 and points of attachment of the cord 0 to the levers 13 and 9,the cord 0 is slackened, thus enabling the lever 13 to move out of reach of the eccentric 18, the result being that the shaft 2 is moved downward by the spring 40 and that the brush is stopped, so as to enable the filaments thereto attached to be withdrawn. As the framing 4 tilts, the hook 21 no longer rests upon the radial support 23, and the spring 39 causes the support23 to turn 011 its axis 26 at a sufficient distancexupward to put the wheels 24 and 27 out of gear. WVhen this has taken place, the weight WV is free to de scend, because the wheel 27 and drum 28 are no longer geared with the wheel 24. v

In order to restart the machine, the tilting framing 4 is restored by hand to its original horizontal position, thus tightening the cord 0 and putting the lever 13 in contact with the eccentric 18. At the same time the hooks 21 and 22 ire-engage and the radial support 23 is pressed downward, thereby causingthe wheels 24 and 27 to be put in gear and the whole machine to act.

As hereinbefore stated, the brush 1 should be capable of turning on its axis 2, and to this end it is secured to the said axis by a suitable attachment. In Figs. 4 and 5 we have shown one mode of attachment.

To enable the brush to turn freely on its axis, it is held by a clasp a, closed by thumbnuts I) b and connected to a swiveling collar 0 by arms dd. The collar 0 is fitted at the bottom end of the Vertical shaft 2 of the machine, and is connected thereto by a pin a, passing through the collar and into a channel which encircles the shaft 2 near the end, as shown in Fig. 4.

The object of having the brush rotatable is to facilitate the removal of the filaments from the brush, as such filaments are more easily. brought together where they can be grasped by the fingers if the brush can be turned around after it has been raised up above the water.

We are aware that previous to our invention cocoons had been brushed by brushes that received an up-and-(lown motion, as set forth in French patents granted to Nourry, No. 22,752, and Mernard, No. 15,835; but in both said patents the brushes are lifted wholly out of the water upon their upward movement, and in their downward movement the brushes act directly upon the cocoons in the water-basin and loosen and separate the floss of the cocoons by the bristles of the brushes picking, loosening, and tearing off the floss, which breaks many of the filaments and causes waste of silk.

The operations in our machine differ from those of the machines set forth in the two patents just referred to, for in our machine the lower ends of the bristles or fibers are al-- ways submerged during the separating operation, and the brush acts to produce currents in the water that force the cocoons away from the brush and then toward the brush, and the separation of the floss is caused by the washing action of the water and by the resistance offered by the cocoons to the action of the water after the floating floss has become entangled in the brush.

e claim as our invention- 1. The combination, in a machine for beating silk cocoons, of a brush and mechainsm, substantially as specified, for reciprocating the same Vertically, and a basin for holding hot water placed in such relation to the brush that the lower end of the brush will always be below the top edge of the basin while being reciprocated, so as to set up alternating and vortex currents in the water and cause the cocoons to come into contact with the sides of the brush and not with the ends thereof, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with the brush 1 and its shaft 2, for holding the same, of guides for said shaft, the links 6, bell-crank lever 9, cord C, spring 40, lever 13, the rotating eccentric 18, for moving the brush, and the frame 4, for supporting said brush and its con nected parts, substantially as specified.

3. The combination, with the brush, its shaft and connected parts, the frame 4, and its weight WV, of the radial support 23, the continuously-rotating pinion 37 and wheel 24, carried by said support, the wheel 27 and barrel 28, the cord 0 and weight 7', and the latch-lever 22 and catch 21, substantially as described and shown.

4. The combination, with the brush and its shaft, of a counterpoised frame for supporting and raising the same, an eccentric, levers and connections for reciprocating the brush, and a latch for holding the supporting-frame, and automatic mechanism, substantially as specified, brought into action periodically for unlatching the frame and allowing it and the brush to rise, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the brush and its shaft, of a counterpoised frame for supporting the same, an eccentric, levers and connections for reciprocating the brush, a weight and gearing for raising the same by the motor that reciprocates the brush, and latches that are disconnected by the action of the Weight to allow the brush and frame to be raised by its counterpoise, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof we have hereunto signed our names in the presence of two suhscribin g witnesses.

EDWARD WILLIAM SERRELL, JJL, EDOUARD FOUGEIROL. \Vitncsses:

CORNELIUS ROOSEVELT, Row. M. I'IOOPER. 

